A Funny Thing Happened When I Tried To Leave For Work This Morning.
So I get up, shower, brush teeth, dress, take meds, head to shop and gear up for ride, walk to bike and get out helmet, push knob... push knob again... snap knob with thumb twice... push knob... find hammer laying nearby and proceed to "tap" on the knob and switch casing... push knob somemore... and finally give up, rip off gear and grab keys to the truck in an attempt to not be late to work. 

Half way to work I started thinking things through.  I didn't try the RFID close up fob thing however the batteries in both fobs were installed just over 1 month ago. Red light on dash was blinking like normal just no response when I push the stove knob.  I used a hammer instead of (don't have) the specified k-rock.  Will have to wait till after work to go home and check out more solutions to the problem.  Haven't ruled anything out at this time. 

If indeed it is a (KIPASS) issue, I'll have to do some digging and research as I wasn't paying attention in class again and never actually finished reading Brian's information on where the white or gray wire is to disconnect/reconnect and activate the authentication cycle to see for certain if it is indeed a (KIPASS) issue. 

I'll update this after I have time to do somemore checking into it. 

Brent S.

Oops. Forgot to say, it is a 2009 Cali Model. Picked up from California back at beginning of April with 3400 on the odo.

Could be the battery (bike)...take all the connections apart and make sure they are good and clean....put a charger on it and then try again.  Try the rfid portion of the fob and see if that works as well.

 IIRC, it is a grey connector under the filler panel under the non-throttle or shifter side. This would be the left side of the bike. There should be a black boot under than panel towards the front of the bike. The grey connector should be under that boot. Again IIRC, you only have seconds to press the key after reconnecting the grey connector to switch on your key.
 Your other option is striking the key housing with a solid object like a hammer. But this may leave marks in the housing, so I might not go that route. Are you sure you have enough battery in the bikes battery for the kipass switch to turn on?
  Also testing the kipass transmitter, to make sure that battery is good, wouldn't hurt. There should be procedures in the book. But you slide the slot where the spare key goes, down over the notch on top of the kipass switch. Theres a dimple there for it to sit on. I pulled the battery out of mine and tried this without the battery, and the switch turned on!
 Well hopefully one of these will help find your problem.

Oh yeah, I forgot but all that info. about testing KiPass, jumping KiPass, out-smarting KiPass is gone too. Pesky computer crash.

You may have the KiPass activation switch sticking problem or a battery or battery cable problem. If the bike is an '09 or later it isn't likely that it is a KiPass problem. There is an easy way to tell with nothing other than a test light or a 12 volt LED. I had written a quick 'how to' but of course that info. is gone. Basically, take off the saddle and open the fuse box closest to the fuel tank. Remove the first fuse in that box and put one leg of a 12 volt LED (the red or + leg) into one of the fuse contacts, and hold the other leg (the black or - leg) against the tank support rail. If the LED lights, the battery is not dead and it is most likely the activation switch sticking. The battery check LED test looks like this:



At that point, you would need to access a connector under the top / left fairing cover, inside the black boot. It looks like this:



Disconnect that connector and reconnect it. If your problem is a stuck activation switch, the LCD screen will light up and show you the 'key' icon for five seconds. Turn the key 'ON' before that five seconds is up or it will lock up again. Disconnect / reconnect that connector each time you want to turn the ignition on until you have the switch fixed by a dealer, hopefully under warranty.

You can also add a by- pass to the KiPass activation switch but it requires cutting wires and soldering in a switch or a fuse (I prefer the fuse). My by-pass looks like this:



And I don't think this is the first reported problem, that was the posting on this forum about the other forum crashing. 

Brian

A Funny Thing Happened When I Tried To Leave For Work This Morning.
So I get up, shower, brush teeth, dress, take meds, head to shop and gear up for ride, walk to bike and get out helmet, push knob... push knob again... snap knob with thumb twice... push knob... find hammer laying nearby and proceed to "tap" on the knob and switch casing... push knob somemore... and finally give up, rip off gear and grab keys to the truck in an attempt to not be late to work. 

Half way to work I started thinking things through.  I didn't try the RFID close up fob thing however the batteries in both fobs were installed just over 1 month ago. Red light on dash was blinking like normal just no response when I push the stove knob.  I used a hammer instead of (don't have) the specified k-rock.  Will have to wait till after work to go home and check out more solutions to the problem.  Haven't ruled anything out at this time. 

If indeed it is a (KIPASS) issue, I'll have to do some digging and research as I wasn't paying attention in class again and never actually finished reading Brian's information on where the white or gray wire is to disconnect/reconnect and activate the authentication cycle to see for certain if it is indeed a (KIPASS) issue. 

I'll update this after I have time to do somemore checking into it. 

Brent S.

Oops. Forgot to say, it is a 2009 Cali Model. Picked up from California back at beginning of April with 3400 on the odo.

Wow! You really are trying to turn over a new leaf huh? Your fingers must have trembled as you typed this.... desperately trying to spell out words such as 'atrocious', 'stuck', and the ever popular 'has happened millions of times'.

   I really have to get that rolling and laughing guy icon to work.

Brian

IIRC, it is a grey connector under the filler panel under the non-throttle or shifter side. This would be the left side of the bike. There should be a black boot under than panel towards the front of the bike. The grey connector should be under that boot. Again IIRC, you only have seconds to press the key after reconnecting the grey connector to switch on your key.
 Your other option is striking the key housing with a solid object like a hammer. But this may leave marks in the housing, so I might not go that route. Are you sure you have enough battery in the bikes battery for the kipass switch to turn on?
  Also testing the kipass transmitter, to make sure that battery is good, wouldn't hurt. There should be procedures in the book. But you slide the slot where the spare key goes, down over the notch on top of the kipass switch. Theres a dimple there for it to sit on. I pulled the battery out of mine and tried this without the battery, and the switch turned on!
 Well hopefully one of these will help find your problem.

Are you sure you had your fob with you?

And I forgot to mention as others have, always try the RFID function of the fob before doing anything else. It could be nothing more than a dead fob battery, which is not a fault but an anticipated and expected situation (sooner or later). As Bob said, take the key out, place the fob directly on the boss on the front of the ignition switch housing and press the key down. If the fob battery is dead this method will by pass the RF circuit and the fob will work even with a completely dead battery.

Brian

A Funny Thing Happened When I Tried To Leave For Work This Morning.

<snip>

Brent S.

Oops. Forgot to say, it is a 2009 Cali Model. Picked up from California back at beginning of April with 3400 on the odo.

B.D.F.  That is the black wire with the white stripe coming out of the gray connector correct?  15 amp fuse in the by-pass?  This mod is going in next week

Are you sure you had your fob with you?

Had just returned it to my pocket after retrieving my helmet from the saddle bag.  It was in my left pocket at the time for sure. 

And I forgot to mention as others have, always try the RFID function of the fob before doing anything else. It could be nothing more than a dead fob battery, which is not a fault but an anticipated and expected situation (sooner or later). As Bob said, take the key out, place the fob directly on the boss on the front of the ignition switch housing and press the key down. If the fob battery is dead this method will by pass the RF circuit and the fob will work even with a completely dead battery.

Brian

Yep, as I said, I remembered the RFID method when I was half way to work (15min. later.)  I'd already found the hammer and went to work "gently" on the key, switch housing, etc. by that point, to no avail.  I'll try the RFID method when I get home tonight.  I'll also check out my battery connections and such as I'm not ruling anything out yet.  Could be that I have just enough connection to give me the flashing red light on the dash but not enough to actually check for the fob.  All just a guess at this point till I can go home and hit it with a volt meter and check some things out.  I did just put fresh batteries in both the fobs as I said above about the first of April (on my trip back from retrieving the bike.)  I'd hate to think that they're dead already but that's an option as well.  I'll do somemore checking later.

Come to think of it, a few weeks ago I went to start it after work one day and had to push the knob down three times before it flashed the key symbol and let me turn it on.  Still not saying it's Kipass yet. Just another possibility at this point.

Brent S.

(snip)

And I don't think this is the first reported problem, that was the posting on this forum about the other forum crashing. 

Brian

I was referring (albeit vaguely) to a post in your other thread labeled "kipass" where you were the first to post a kipass thread.  Someone posted wondering who would have the first reported problem (I assumed they meant with kipass as it was on the kipass thread.)

Anyway, thank you very much for reposting this (I believe) very valuable info and pictures so we have a record to return to and search for.  It'll help somebody and does help me to know what to look for tonight after I check connections and other things. 

Thanks!

Brent S.

Pull the battery out and check the connections, particularly the negative terminal. This exact thing happened to me twice (naturally, it happened as I was leaving work, so I had to work on my baby in the parking lot in front of Gold Wing and Harley riders...) and I kept blaming KIPASS. I even bought a new battery, and when I pulled the 'old' battery out, I found the loose connection. Naturally, I had already filled and charged the new battery. I generally like KIPASS, but it's a pain that you can't even unlock the forks without electricity.

Got home from work.  Picked up my fob and headed towards the bike.  Push knob... unlocks immediately.  Let time lapse and repeat.  Works again.  And then again.  So, not having touched or moved the bike all day I'd say it was just a mischievious spirit wandering through my house. 

Actually, my bet is on a loose cable or corrosion somewhere but for tonight I'll probably leave it alone.  There are friends and grilling in my future so I'll work on the bike tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks all and I'll let you know what I find tomorrow.

Brent S.

I have to turn my body sometimes towards the bike with the fob in my left pocket.  I started just carrying it in my right pocket and haven't had an occurance since. 

It is not a coincidence that those are the very first steps in the KiPass dance that opens the incantation.

Seriously, the radio part (RF) of KiPass does not have much range and like all radios is subject to interference. As other have posted several times on that other forum of old, just changing pockets or what is carried next to the KiPass fob can sometimes make a difference. I don't think of it as a fault, more like a consideration: Cap'n Bob will read that last sentence as "Here Kitty, Kitty."

Brian

I have to turn my body sometimes towards the bike with the fob in my left pocket.  I started just carrying it in my right pocket and haven't had an occurance since.

Absolutely check the cables but it may also be as the other poster just said, nothing more than interference between the fob and the KiPass ECU. Try moving the fob to your right side if it is not already there and maybe put a little distance between the fob and any large hunks of metal, cell phone, etc. I have not found change or my bunch of keys to interfere with it but others have had money clips, cell phones and even where they carry the fob to cause intermittent failures to authenticate.

Whenever anyone has a C-14 that will not respond when the key is pushed, that person should always first try the 'no battery' mode of KiPass where the fob is held against the front of the ignition switch. If it cures the problem, there was an RF failure of some kind and it may well be the battery. Even the occasional new battery is bad so that is not a guarantee either.

Brian

Got home from work.  Picked up my fob and headed towards the bike.  Push knob... unlocks immediately.  Let time lapse and repeat.  Works again.  And then again.  So, not having touched or moved the bike all day I'd say it was just a mischievious spirit wandering through my house. 

Actually, my bet is on a loose cable or corrosion somewhere but for tonight I'll probably leave it alone.  There are friends and grilling in my future so I'll work on the bike tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks all and I'll let you know what I find tomorrow.

Brent S.

I can attest to radio interference.  Not on my KiPass, but my if my garage door opener settles on top of my TollTag (radio tag for toll roads here in Dallas area), my garage door will not open even if I'm sitting with my front wheel two inches from the door.  Pull the TollTag out and the door will open from fifty feet. I never would have thought that was possible, but happens every time.

Well, I did get a chance to open up the side on Saturday afternoon and pulled out the battery to check the main power and ground connections.  No corrosion anywhere and ground was tight on the bike.  Both the positive and ground cables were tight to the battery but only about finger tight I'd say. When I put the wrench on the terminal bolt it came loose almost before I tried to turn it.

So, I still think that it was making a good enough connection to sustain starting or at the very least going through the ID verification process.  I didn't mention that, with the fob in my left pocket, I started out on the right side facing the bike when I pushed the knob the first few times and then was on the left side by the fairing when I did my hammer tapping and tried the knob a few more times.  So I moved around the bike a bit and it still wouldn't work. 

I'm going to just chalk this one up to the fact that it was Friday the 13th and the planets were all aligned against my riding to work that particular day and leave it at that.

Brent S.

Last night I finally figured out what the cause was and it definitely was the Kipass... well, actually the fob part of Kipass.  I had stopped at the grocery store and it wouldn't activate again when I came out to leave.  Took the key out of the fob and did the rfid thing and it released the knob right away.  As I was riding away the LCD lit up with the "NO TRANSPONDER" message (or whatever it actually states.)  So I did what any good owner would do, I fished the fob out of my pocket and smacked it on the gas cap cover repeatedly and it worked again (for about 6 blocks.)  So while stopping for gas I cracked open the fob and scratch cleaned all the terminals.  Seems to have worked fine so far.

I did find one thing interesting.  It was saying no transponder again when I pulled up to the pump and shut off the bike however the key knob picture on the lcd stayed lit up a little differently than usual for a few seconds and allowed me to turn the bike back on.  So it appears that it will still stay unlocked for those first few seconds after you shut off the bike using the key knob.  Well, glad that mystery is solved. Now on to something much more important like why they sell hotdogs in packs of 10 but buns in packs of 8! 

Brent S.

Last night I finally figured out what the cause was and it definitely was the Kipass... well, actually the fob part of Kipass.  I had stopped at the grocery store and it wouldn't activate again when I came out to leave.  Took the key out of the fob and did the rfid thing and it released the knob right away.  As I was riding away the LCD lit up with the "NO TRANSPONDER" message (or whatever it actually states.)  So I did what any good owner would do, I fished the fob out of my pocket and smacked it on the gas cap cover repeatedly and it worked again (for about 6 blocks.)  So while stopping for gas I cracked open the fob and scratch cleaned all the terminals.  Seems to have worked fine so far.

I did find one thing interesting.  It was saying no transponder again when I pulled up to the pump and shut off the bike however the key knob picture on the lcd stayed lit up a little differently than usual for a few seconds and allowed me to turn the bike back on.  So it appears that it will still stay unlocked for those first few seconds after you shut off the bike using the key knob.  Well, glad that mystery is solved. Now on to something much more important like why they sell hotdogs in packs of 10 but buns in packs of 8! 

Brent S.

Change the battery in the FOB?

Now on to something much more important like why they sell hotdogs in packs of 10 but buns in packs of 8! 

Brent S.

And beer in six-packs! Can't the food groups all just get along?